Woman sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling toxic fentanyl blend that killed three people

A woman who sold a toxic drug mixture called China White that killed three people has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. The deadly blend of fentanyl and heroin killed two men and a woman.

U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello sentenced Jessica Rud, 28, on Tuesday after Rud pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to deal fentanyl resulting in death.

The U.S. District Attorney's office agreed to drop three felony charges including fentanyl dealing against Rud in exchange for her guilty plea to a remaining count.

"Fentanyl is exponentially more deadly than heroin or morphine. It is not a ‘recreational' drug; it is a stone-cold killer," U.S. Attorney Robert Troyer said. "The human suffering and tragedy dispensed by street dealers who hawk fentanyl as heroin is staggering. This is why prosecuting those dealers with every tool we've got is an essential mission of my office and (the Department of Justice)."

Rud obtained the deadly China White from drug distributors in Denver. Co-conspirator Chelsea Leonowicz, 27, also sold the drugs, and faces sentencing on April 5.

In just over a day's time in early December 2016, Rud sold China White to at least three customers. During that same time span, those people, who were identified only by their initials in a federal sentencing document, died of drug overdoses.

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On Dec. 1, 2016, Rud sold 21-year-old C.H. $30 worth of China White in a car in Fort Collins and stayed with him while he injected some into his body. The next day, C.H.'s body was found lying across the front seats of the car with dried vomit near his head. There was also a baggie with a white powdery substance on the passenger seat. The car's engine was still running.

The Larimer County Coroner's Office determined that C.H. died of acute fentanyl toxicity.

On the evening of Dec. 2 or early the next morning, the same day that C.H.'s body was found, Rud and Leonowicz sold $250 worth of China White to a 27-year-old woman identified in court documents as A.V.

A.V. and a 44-year-old man identified only as T.C., who lived together in a Loveland home, were found dead inside a bedroom, the report says.

A powdery substance divided into small lines was found on a dresser near the bodies. T.C. held a rolled up $20 bill in his hand. Laboratory tests confirmed both died of acute fentanyl toxicity.

Leonowicz told investigators on Dec. 27, 2016, that she knew the drug was dangerously strong when she got high while smoking it from one hit. She also investigators she saved two people from overdosing on China White, including Rud.